Savory Cheese and Chive Bread

Let me start off saying that Alexander is doing fabulous!  His hemoglobin A1C has dropped from 13.5 to 9.5 in just two short months.  The doctors are very pleased with his progress as well as his attitude.  That kid is a trouper!  Thank you again for all of you wishes.   I have missed you all.  I have missed your thoughts and your voices.  Your kind words have kept me going, and the positive reassurances have been my sails.  We are a happy family again and life is getting easier.   I can’t thank you enough.

Alexander was unavailable for the photo.  He said I could use this one  instead.

Now it is back to work.  I charge, full-steam ahead into my love of cooking and all things cookbooks.  My poor oven!  It really needed some love.  Some of my greatest loves are warm quick breads hot out the oven smeared with butter.  Any kind of quick bread; zucchini, banana, apple and now savory cheese and chive bread!

I found this delicious, warm and cheesy recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s “At My French Table”.  I tell you, I love this cookbook!  Every page in the book are filled with beautiful pictures and words that truly tell the story of the food held between it’s covers.  The recipes are intriguing and the flavors complex, but the ingredients and ideas are simple.  This is French country fare at it’s finest.



Ms. Greenspan suggest serving this bread warm out of the oven before dinner.  Used as an appetizer, it is meant to soak up any pre-dinner drinks that might happen. I enjoyed it right out of the oven all by myself.  No drinks needed (no family either for that matter).  I love the way shredded and cubed cheeses are used.  The shredded cheese fills the entire bread and the cheese cubes are like hidden gems when you bite into one.  You can substitute any kind of cheese that you’d like. 



8 servings  20.4 grams of carbohydrates per slice.  (for those of us counting carbs)

Savory Cheese and Chive Bread

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2-1 teaspoon salt (depending on what cheese and add-ins you use)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. (I used black pepper  You could also use cayenne pepper if you wanted it a little bit spicier)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 generous cup coarsely grated Gruyere, Comte, Emmenthal, sharp Cheddar (about 4 ounces)
2 ounces of the same cheeses listed above, just cut into small cubes (about 1/2-2/3 cup)
1/2 cup minced fresh chives or other herbs (or thinly sliced scallions)
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional).  I used about 2/3 of a cup.  I love the crunch the walnuts lend to the bread.

1.  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter a standard loaf pan.  It can be a Pyrex pan or a metal pan.  I used a metal pan. 

2.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.



3.  Put the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk for about one minute, until they’re foamy and blended.  Whisk in the milk and the olive oil.



4.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently mix until the dough comes together.  Go at a slow and steady pace.  If you work the dough too much it will be come tough and chewy.
 
5.  Once the dry ingredients are moistened, stir in the cheese, grated and cubed and the herbs and walnuts.  The dough will be really, really thick. 



6.  Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and tap the top to even it out with the back of the spoon or spatula.



7.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the bread is golden and a toothpick or wooden skewer is inserted into the middle of the bread and it comes out clean .
 


8.  Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and wait for about 3 minutes.  Run a knife along the sides of the pan and turn the loaf over onto the rack, invert and cool right side up.